The present invention relates to the packaging and dispensing of flat, stacked articles. More particularly, the present invention relates to the packaging of articles such as envelopes or the like.
Such products must be packaged so that they may be readily loaded into automatic machinery for filling and sealing. Generally such products are collected in stacked bundles and specified counts of the products are packaged in conventional cartons either automatically or by hand. Upon being shipped to the user, the products must then be removed from their cartons and loaded into the feeding bins of the automatic filling and sealing apparatus. The conventional cartons used for this purpose in the past have been of the six-sided type with enclosed sides and ends. However such cartons suffer from several drawbacks. First, because the cartons completely enclose the packaged products, it is difficult to determine the identity or orientation of the packaged products before the carton is opened. Secondly, after opening the carton, it is difficult to transfer the stacked articles from the carton into the feeding bins of the automatic machinery. To offset these problems, the package of the present invention is designed to provide the user with a convenient package having easy identification of the packaged products and ease of loading into automatic equipment.